The Samsung Galaxy Mega will make the Galaxy Notes look normal.

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Samsung is not done pumping the smartphone form factor with growth hormones—a “Mega” phone with a 6.3-inch screen is reportedly in the works, according to SamMobile. A second phone in the same series would have a 5.8-inch screen, besting Samsung’s current largest smartphone offering, the Galaxy Note II.

The Galaxy Mega 5.8, codenamed GT-I9152, would be a DUO smartphone running Android and would be set for release in week 22 (late May-early June). The Galaxy Mega 6.3 has the same screen size as the rumored follow-up to the Galaxy Note II, and it may be set for release around week 25 (mid-June).

With each new phone release from Samsung, we become more convinced that the smartphone screen size race is less about what consumers want and more about seeing what the company can get away with. Not that the devices don’t sell—both iterations of the Note have sold in the millions—but as the devices become bigger and increasingly unable to fit in a pants pocket, we wonder where to draw the line.

Even 6.3 inches seems too far for a hybrid “phablet”; the size is I’m-not-touching-you close to the accepted tablet size of seven inches. We’ll be interested to see if there are yet larger hands and pockets not already sated by the Galaxy Note phone series. Technically, the Mega phones have already been bested by the Galaxy Note 8.0, which falls more squarely (rectangularly?) in the tablet category, but can also act as a phone. However ridiculous that may ultimately look.

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Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston

108 Reader Comments

Watching "kids" these days (anyone under the age of 25 it seems) with their phones I don't think there's a need to be able to use them as an actual phone. I've never seen my sister-in-law (age 22) actually talk on her iPhone though I swear she'd suffer life-threatening withdrawal symptoms were someone to take it out of her hands for more than 5 minutes.

If you're going to text on your "phone" 24/7 it may as well be the size of a small tablet.

Galaxy Note 8 is a phone, not something pretending to be a phone as is being implied in the article. What is the issue with not artificially limiting tablets to data only? Can you not switch your SIM to a smaller device if you need to? What's the problem here with large phones?

With each new phone release from Samsung, we become more convinced that the smartphone screen size race is less about what consumers want and more about seeing what the company can get away with. Not that the devices don’t sell—both iterations of the Note have sold in the millions—but as the devices become bigger and increasingly unable to fit in a pants pocket, we wonder where to draw the line.

If they're selling, it's what consumers want. There are, and always have been, a generous selection of smaller phones for those that want one.

Samsung is really just ridiculous. Devices are becoming unwieldy and cumbersome, and unfortunately, they're selling, and Android, to the casual users, has become synonymous with Samsung, who's leading the charge, and soon other Android OEMs will foray into that region and it would become the norm, further blurring the lines between tablet and smartphone. I miss the day when 4.3" was big and 4.7" was 'Titan'.

Galaxy Note 8 is a phone, not something pretending to be a phone as is being implied in the article. What is the issue with not artificially limiting tablets to data only? Can you not switch your SIM to a smaller device if you need to? What's the problem here with large phones?

You have a point. The Note 8 is already bigger than the phones mentioned in this and is a fully functional if comically enormous phone.

The problem with large phones for me is fitting them in my pocket. If you carry a purse I can see how this would be less of an issue. But as long as they keep building reasonable size ones I can buy (4-5" please) I don't care if other people have enormous phones.

I'm still using an HTC HD7 (4.3"), remember when that was "big"? It's still big enough for me although I'm considering getting an HTC One, that thing looks stellar.

With each new phone release from Samsung, we become more convinced that the smartphone screen size race is less about what consumers want and more about seeing what the company can get away with. Not that the devices don’t sell—both iterations of the Note have sold in the millions—but as the devices become bigger and increasingly unable to fit in a pants pocket, we wonder where to draw the line.

It probably has more to do with many carriers' artificial prohibition on tablets from getting telephone service/SMS/phone numbers.

Many people just want a tablet that can also handle phone calls and text messages. This is perfectly sensible. What is idiotic is a supposed technology site that's clinging to such anachronisms as "voice service = handset." Bluetooth headsets have been around for, what, a decade?

Watching "kids" these days (anyone under the age of 25 it seems) with their phones I don't think there's a need to be able to use them as an actual phone. I've never seen my sister-in-law (age 22) actually talk on her iPhone though I swear she'd suffer life-threatening withdrawal symptoms were someone to take it out of her hands for more than 5 minutes.

If you're going to text on your "phone" 24/7 it may as well be the size of a small tablet.

Pretty much. My gf has a Samsung Transform. I have a Galaxy SII. She's always telling me how txting on my phone is so much easier. the keyboard isn't as cramped as on her phone. I don't get why you were modded down for stating a simple reality.

If they're selling, it's what consumers want. There are, and always have been, a generous selection of smaller phones for those that want one.

Not necessarily with the same high-end hardware and features, though. I think people want smaller high-end devices, not smaller mediocre devices.

Personally, I think 6.3" is still a feasible size for some user. For example, I can fit a 6" e-reader with a giant bezel in my pockets, but not a 7" tablet. A 6.3" device (with more reasonable bezels than an e-reader) might more successfully be both a phone and tablet than a 5.8" device or a 7" device.

Samsung is really just ridiculous. Devices are becoming unwieldy and cumbersome, and unfortunately, they're selling, and Android, to the casual users, has become synonymous with Samsung, who's leading the charge, and soon other Android OEMs will foray into that region and it would become the norm, further blurring the lines between tablet and smartphone. I miss the day when 4.3" was big and 4.7" was 'Titan'.

You know when people are spoiled when they seem to have forgotten the actual definition of unwieldy and cumbersome. None of these "smartphones" are cumbersome nor are they unwieldy. Those who actually have them have no issues with them.

If they're selling, it's what consumers want. There are, and always have been, a generous selection of smaller phones for those that want one.

Bullshit. If you want a high-end phone nowadays, it's gonna have to be significantly bigger than those of 3 years ago.

Apple is the only exception.

I didn't say smaller phones were high-end, so I'm not sure what you're calling bullshit on. High-end CPU's drive high-resolution displays. If you want a 4" WVGA screen, what's the point of having an exynos octa or a snapdragon 600 in it?

Why are we even bothering calling them phones still? We got rid of 'cell phones' for 'mobile phone' when analog service went away. It's time get rid of the 'phone' moniker all together and call them mobile communication devices or some other phrase.

Maybe then we wouldn't have all these arguments about 'phones' being too big. As daggar said, I haven't seen anyone hold a phone up to their head to talk on it (for more than a minute or so) in years. Headsets people!

That said, now I have to wait on picking up an SGS4. A 5.8" device should still slide into my shirt/pants pocket just fine, and the extra real estate would be nice to have.

With each new phone release from Samsung, we become more convinced that the smartphone screen size race is less about what consumers want and more about seeing what the company can get away with. Not that the devices don’t sell—both iterations of the Note have sold in the millions—but as the devices become bigger and increasingly unable to fit in a pants pocket, we wonder where to draw the line.

If they're selling, it's what consumers want. There are, and always have been, a generous selection of smaller phones for those that want one.

That's not true. There are a selection of gimped phones in the smaller form factor. The only widely-available manufacturer making a smallish, high-end handset is Apple.

The market is shaped by the offerings of major manufacturers, and lensed by which of those offerings major carriers make available.

I (and millions of other users) have a Galaxy note 2, still getting used to the size, but I love what I can do with the form factor, multiview being amazing for browsing tapatalk forums and watching the youtube video about what the op is talking about. I am 6-4 and wear pants with big pockets, but a 6.3 inch display still seams rediculous to me. When the Dell Streak (5 inch) came out, I wanted it because of the real estate offered, but now I have a 5.5 inch display and that feels like it's more than big enough.

With each new phone release from Samsung, we become more convinced that the smartphone screen size race is less about what consumers want and more about seeing what the company can get away with. Not that the devices don’t sell—both iterations of the Note have sold in the millions—but as the devices become bigger and increasingly unable to fit in a pants pocket, we wonder where to draw the line.

If they're selling, it's what consumers want. There are, and always have been, a generous selection of smaller phones for those that want one.

That's not true. There are a selection of gimped phones in the smaller form factor. The only widely-available manufacturer making a smallish, high-end handset is Apple.

The market is shaped by the offerings of major manufacturers, and lensed by which of those offerings major carriers make available.

Are you inferring that HTC, Motorola, Samsung, et al don't have market research teams? If they thought their flagships would sell at 4", they'd sell them at 4". Despite the Ars readership opinion that phones are too big, I frequently see people criticizing iphones for having screens that are too small.

I haven't seen anyone hold a phone up to their head to talk on it (for more than a minute or so) in years.

That's weird to me.

I work in IT, in a cubicle, and I see my coworkers, people driving (!), people checking out at the gas station/quickie mart, people walking into the mall -- all gabbing away on their phones, held up to their heads.

Where do you all live that you don't see people talking on their mobile phones? I see them all the time, and I'm absolutely positive that size would matter for those people.

The next step is to bundle the giganto-phones with bluetooth headsets. Then to give the headsets an alternate form factor - something you can hold up to your ear at a moment's notice, perhaps, instead of having to clip it on. Maybe even build in a keypad so you can place a call without ever pulling out your actual phone. It'll sell like hotcakes, I tell you!

I haven't seen anyone hold a phone up to their head to talk on it (for more than a minute or so) in years.

That's weird to me.

I work in IT, in a cubicle, and I see my coworkers, people driving (!), people checking out at the gas station/quickie mart, people walking into the mall -- all gabbing away on their phones, held up to their head.

Where do you all live that you don't see people talking on their mobile phones? I see them all the time, and I'm absolutely positive that size would matter for those people.

I know what's going on here. Toleraen stops staring at people on the phone after 1 minute and you don't, so you are both right.

If they're selling, it's what consumers want. There are, and always have been, a generous selection of smaller phones for those that want one.

Not necessarily with the same high-end hardware and features, though. I think people want smaller high-end devices, not smaller mediocre devices.

Exactly. Almost all of the smaller phones available are the high end phones from a year or two ago, aka Galaxy S or Galaxy S2 or have mid to low end specs to match them anyway.

Stone wrote:

I didn't say smaller phones were high-end, so I'm not sure what you're calling bullshit on. High-end CPU's drive high-resolution displays. If you want a 4" WVGA screen, what's the point of having an exynos octa or a snapdragon 600 in it?

You can still benefit from a faster CPU with out having to have a 5" 1080p screen. Yes, you don't need as much GPU power to drive a smaller lower resolution screen but doesn't mean you can't utilize a better CPU. It's also about the amount of Memory, the supported air interfaces and number of bands etc. Newer chips support lte better and are often more power efficient too thanks to newer processes.

Remember when being able to reach all corners of the screen with your thumb without readjusting your grip on the phone while holding it one-handed was a thing in the Android world? What happened? I still have my nearly 2 year old Rezound because of its 4.3" 720p screen. I would gladly pay a hefty premium to get the internals of, say, a Galaxy S4 (or even an S3, for god's sake!) in a 4" - 4.3" 720p screen form factor. It's baffling that none of the manufacturers have realized that there's money to be made here.

A phone that big would give me anxiety over phone theft. As a citizen of Chicago I regularly hear about scumbags going "Apple picking" on subway platforms and other crowded areas due to people being careless about how they hold their phone. When I had an iPhone 4 it was easy to keep two fingers over the top, making me a less-attractive target. It's much harder to grasp a Galaxy Note 2 in the same manner.

I haven't seen anyone hold a phone up to their head to talk on it (for more than a minute or so) in years.

That's weird to me.

I work in IT, in a cubicle, and I see my coworkers, people driving (!), people checking out at the gas station/quickie mart, people walking into the mall -- all gabbing away on their phones, held up to their head.

Where do you all live that you don't see people talking on their mobile phones? I see them all the time, and I'm absolutely positive that size would matter for those people.

Years is probably an exaggeration, but I work at a company where we have (and are encouraged to use) other methods of communication. My commute is only ~13 minutes so I don't observe a lot of people driving. I see far more people walking around with bluetooth headsets jammed into their ears yapping away on their phones though.

edit:

Kamina wrote:

I know what's going on here. Toleraen stops staring at people on the phone after 1 minute and you don't, so you are both right.

As a citizen of Chicago I regularly hear about scumbags going "Apple picking"

As a proud (fellow) citizen of Chicago I'd like to point out that smartphone thefts are up anywhere from 30%-40% nationwide. It's in New York that it's so bad that they've placed officers on a special squad to combat the thefts.

"Samsung offers a variety of products with a variety of screen sizes. One of these screen sizes is very large. Is Samsung giving consumers what they want?!?!?"

"Apple offers two products with a similar form factor and two screen sizes. Apple offers consumers what they want!"

Also:"With each new phone release from Samsung, we become more convinced that the smartphone screen size race is less about what consumers want and more about seeing what the company can get away with."With each new phone release from Samsung, ignoring the ones that don't fit our pattern, like the Galaxy S3 Mini, we will draw a conclusion that has no supporting evidence to make a statement that this is getting ridiculous!

The thing is if you're totally addicted to constant net access you'll have no problems carrying a really huge phone, especially if it eases the pain of staring at a screen all the time.

And I would also prefer a huge phone if I could get away with using nothing but this for everything. As more and more people seem to do. If you have a PC (or several) and a notebook and a tablet and a smartphone this looks very different. For me a smartphone has to fit comfortably into a pocket and I want to be able to use it with one hand, but then I have more than enough other devices to turn to if I need more room or more capabilities.

Still, all of this is constantly shifting. Back in 2007 cellphones were getting smaller and smaller and the iPhone with its 3.5" display was positively a brick. It certainly was right on the upper bound of what people were willing to carry around. This has changed, these things have become so important to many people that they accept much larger devices. Throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks is a viable strategy here for Samsung I'd say.

And anyway: How often do you see people with no bags to carry things these days? There's the rare day in summer when I'm out with nothing but jeans and a shirt and some change and keys in my pockets. And yes, I feel totally naked when I leave the house without my phone. This happens once or twice a year by accident and usually I turn around after five minutes then. This is almost worrying and larger screens seem to come as inevitable as cut heroin for addicts.

"Samsung offers a variety of products with a variety of screen sizes. One of these screen sizes is very large. Is Samsung giving consumers what they want?!?!?"

"Apple offers two products with a similar form factor and two screen sizes. Apple offers consumers what they want!"

No, Apple offers the customers to outsource thinking about the right size. Having this AND what Samsung does is actually free market at work. It's ironic that people don't understand this. There's a market for fresh produce and there's a market for restaurants. What's wrong with that? You're like someone ranting at restaurants because they offer you just a menu of choices.

"Samsung offers a variety of products with a variety of screen sizes. One of these screen sizes is very large. Is Samsung giving consumers what they want?!?!?"

"Apple offers two products with a similar form factor and two screen sizes. Apple offers consumers what they want!"

No, Apple offers the customers to outsource thinking about the right size. Having this AND what Samsung does is actually free market at work. It's ironic that people don't understand this. There's a market for fresh produce and there's a market for restaurants. What's wrong with that? You're like someone ranting at restaurants because they offer you just a menu of choices.

I don't have a problem with Apple offering limited choices.

I have a problem with people acting like a company that DOES offer choices is somehow bad because of that.

As a proud (fellow) citizen of Chicago I'd like to point out that smartphone thefts are up anywhere from 30%-40% nationwide.

Do women carry them in their back pockets there as well? When you have a 6" object sticking out of a pocket that couldn't conceal a phone half that size, its no wonder they get pickpocketed.

No one is picking their pockets.

They are snatching them from their hands while they're immersed in conversation, texting, or surfing. They don't see them coming, they only see a flash of jeans and t-shirts as they dash away around a corner or down a subway.